DPR Member: Government and PLN Move Swiftly to Address Electricity Issues in Java

A member of Commission XII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Rusli Habibie, has expressed his concern for communities affected by electricity disruptions in Java over recent days. He also commended the swift action taken by the government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), particularly the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, together with state-owned PT PLN (Persero), whose coordinated and accelerated handling has led to the gradual normalisation of electricity conditions in various regions. “We appreciate the swift action of the Minister of ESDM and his staff, the Directorate General of Mineral and Coal, PLN, and all related parties who have worked hard to handle this situation. Alhamdulillah, the electricity condition in Java is improving and the public can resume their activities more normally. We also thank the public for their patience during the recovery process,” Rusli said in a written statement on Thursday. According to Rusli, based on the oversight of Commission XII and explanations from the government, the disruption was not caused by a shortage of national coal supply. The government has implemented various mitigation measures to ensure the primary energy needs of power plants are met, so that the national electricity system has adequate supply support. He explained that the challenges faced were more related to the need for medium-calorie coal for blending, the acceleration of distribution to several power plants, and technical factors at some plant units requiring further maintenance and handling. Therefore, the issue must be viewed holistically and comprehensively. “The government, through the Ministry of ESDM, has moved quickly to coordinate and mitigate, while PLN continues to carry out recovery measures on the ground. The good synergy between the government, PLN, and energy suppliers is a key factor in accelerating the normalisation of the affected electricity system,” he stressed. Rusli assessed that the swift actions taken by all parties demonstrate that the coordination and response mechanisms in the national electricity sector are functioning well. He believes this joint effort deserves appreciation as it has successfully minimised the impact of the disruption while accelerating the restoration of services to the public. Nevertheless, Rusli hopes this incident will serve as a joint evaluation to further strengthen the reliability of the national electricity system. He emphasised that electricity reliability is determined not only by the adequacy of primary energy and the readiness of power plants, but also by the preparedness of transmission systems, substations, distribution networks, and operational coordination capable of working as a single integrated system.